Callouts & quotes from 1,316+ activist slides

"You will also see in our compensation discussion and analysis in our annual circular that in 2018 management is now compensated on cash flow in addition to revenue and EBITDA. And that'll be a friendly reminder to everyone on the leadership team to pay attention to that. — Maxar CEO Lance Q4'17 Conference Call (Feb 2018)"

"At the end of the day, we believe LODE has failed to deliver on its corporate promises, has a subpar CEO, and illiquid assets of little productive value. We believe the LiNiCo transaction won't succeed and that investors should value LODE at a multiple of its cash. Our price target is approximately $0.35 - $0.70 /share."

""Operating cash flows were also impacted by decreased inventory of $14.8 million resulting from continued inventory optimization efforts. These increases were offset by increased accounts and notes receivable of $67.6 million and prepaid expenses and other assets of $12.7 million during 2018" — Axon Financial Statements"

"The directors of [Superb Summit] are solely responsible for the preparation of the Discounted Future Cash Flows with the Valuation which the directors have adopted the Valuation prepared by the Valuer with those bases and assumptions stated in the Valuation with input from the Company and the Valuer. — Auditor's letter"

""The Thailand National Anti-Corruption Commission (NCCC) has investigated the case of the unusual wealth of Mr. Suphot Saplom, the former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transportation and found that his wife Mrs. Narumol Sublom was given cash by Mr. Anek Jongsathien, used to purchase automobiles" — Isranews.org"

"TIP REIT will be required to fund land capex for the first two years after the spin-off. Thereafter, TIP REIT will be Target Corp’s land developer through its Preferred Vendor Agreement. As such, Target Corp will generate significant free cash flow and will likely deleverage to an A-/A3 ratings profile after two years"

"Fast forward to TFS’s FY 2010 results and any mention of the outstanding institutional investor’s payment is non-existent. However, the breakdown of receivables shows a massive growth in amounts outstanding from institutional investors despite management’s prior assertion that future BC sales would be on a cash basis!"

"If Val-gan can grow organically at a high single-digit rate as Valeant management projects, and management can invest the company’s free cash flow in new acquisition targets at historical rates of return, then we believe management can achieve its goal of 15%-20% annual EPS growth — Valeant Presentation April 22, 2014"

"To Baidu we say, “You’ve announced that you’re going to pay seven percent of your market cap in cash for a business that’s almost entirely fraudulent. The enormous scale of this fraud will be inescapable in due diligence. You say there are real ethics and respect for the law at Baidu? Show us.” — Muddy Waters Research"

"to pursue multiyear upfront contracts with enterprise customers to help meet its fiscal year 2023 free cash flow goal. Upfront billings of enterprise customers in fiscal year 2023 substantially exceeded historical levels, helping the company to meet its lowered annual free cash flow target. — Autodesk (quoted in text)"

"Spruce Point does not believe the Evoqua deal was an effective roll-up strategy worthy of the commanding valuation paid by Xylem. After deploying $490m for acquisitions, cash flow struggled ever since COVID-19, and its final acquisition of Mar Cor appears to have been a bust with the return of unpaid earnout money."

"Lumen has not disclosed the exact prepayment amount for the $5bn in contracts (neither for 2024 nor in aggregate) but based on the company's change in FCF outlook guidance and the management comments regarding the upfront nature of cash paid in advance of construction, we estimate ~$1.3bn will be received in 2H24E."

"As Philip Service Corp. continued to file financial statements, we see that 1996-1997 total operating cash burn was revised up from -$175m to -$224m. Over the same time period, Capex was revised from $92.4m to $82.9m. As a result total free cash burn from these two years was revised higher from $267.5m to $307.1m."

"Samsara has a history of exorbitant cash burn. While the Company celebrated its positive CFO in its latest fiscal Q1 and Q2, we find that the result was primarily driven by exceptional changes in accounts receivable and inventories relative to previous six quarter results and ratios and are likely not sustainable."

"On your second question, so about 21% of our revenue in Q4 was spent on inventory, on our IoT devices and on inventory. And so with a minus 3% free cash flow margin, our free cash flow margin sans dollars going out the door for inventory would have been positive 18%. — Samsara CFO Phillips, Q4 FY2023 Earnings Call"

"In other words, management's action shows that when it's our money, it needs to be held conservatively and reserved for "strategic flexibility." But when it's their money, they don't need so much rainy day cash and they'd like to see the balance sheet working harder to generate the maximum return on their equity."

"We link pay with performance through our cash incentive plan, called POBS Plus. The purpose of the incentive plan is to provide an incentive to key employees of the company to reward them for driving the success of the company as measured based on objective financial criteria — Mettler-Toledo 2019 Proxy Statement"

"It seems to us that the lease model may quickly become a huge liability if one of the following occurs: (i) AXDX depletes its cash reserve; (ii) negative clinical data about the Pheno system are published; (iii) a new strong competitor comes in a picture; (iv) hospitals will underutilize installed Pheno systems."

""It feels very expensive to me. If you go through the three methodologies, valuing the cash flows, on a relative value basis and the third thing is what its worth on a price to book basis if you were to think about it as a financing company. In all three metrics, it's quite expensive." — Former Sunnova Executive"

"We estimate gross profit per system will continue to drop as the solar investment tax credit steps down over the next 2 years. Lower margins and a reduced benefit for tax equity investors look to pressure an industry which already has tight margins and relies on tax equity to support their negative cash flows."

"Spruce Point believes Kornit Digital (“the Company” or KRNT) saw 2018 revenues, and particularly cash flow, driven entirely by Amazon’s expansion of its Merch program, which are likely to taper based on a slow-down of program growth, and would leave a gaping hole in Kornit’s aggressive revenue growth strategy."

"“$69.6 million was due to the increase in non-cancellable non-refundable advance consideration or cash consideration received from customers which preceded the Company's satisfaction of the associated performance obligations relating to product sales expected to be fulfilled in the next 12 months.” — SMCI 10-Q"

"It appears CTC is more inclined to sell properties than it was in the past. In 2018 and during the first half of 2019, CTC drastically increased the value of sales. This is concerning given that CTC’s debt load has grown substantially over this time. We believe this is a sign the company is strapped for cash."

"But when a third of the value of the company is cash, managing it requires the sort of attention one would normally reserve for operating the business. And in contrast to the rest of Apple’s business, where innovation is the norm, Apple’s attitude toward managing its cash has been exceedingly non-innovative."

"But essentially from 2014, 2015 and 2016 there was very little CapEx that was spent at DigitalGlobe to build satellites. And they took advantage of that and all the cash flow that was generated during this period and bought back about$300 million of stock. — Interim Maxar CFO (former MDA CFO) Anil Wirasekara"

"Current investors are paying a significant premium to the Company’s historical valuation. Spruce Point finds it difficult to justify Kratos’ valuation expansion in light of its history of disappointment, unproven drone opportunities, questionable business practices, shrinking backlog, and rising cash burn."

"BR has experienced multiple expansion over the past few years, while the evidence shows its cash flow has deteriorated, it has a shrinking ecosystem and greater customer concentration, has failed to deliver on the UBS project in a timely manner, and may be under increasing regulatory scrutiny from the SEC."

"Each of these developments is unfortunate and places management’s full-year guidance at risk, in our view. The risk to earnings has obvious flow through implications to the company’s cash flow, which adds to concern given the company’s already challenged liquidity and balance sheet profile. — Goldman Sachs"

"SMCI is currently trading at the highest revenue multiple in its sector, likely a reflection of investors perception that it is growing revenues the fastest. However, unlike its peers which have historically solid free cash flow generation, SMCI has not demonstrated any long-term free cash flow ability."

"“So I was really doing well on the top line, which is great because that’s where you get your bonus. You also get some bonus on the revenue end of it. But I was killing sales plan, but I was burning through cash because, we had way too much inventory when we grand opened.” — Tegus-sourced Store Manager"

"“We believe that the presentation of Adjusted Free Cash Flow is relevant and useful to investors because it provides a measure of cash available to pay the principal on our debt and pursue acquisitions of businesses or other strategic investments or uses of capital.” — GTT Q1 2019 SEC Form 10-Q, p. 40"

"Lasertec is an extreme, textbook accounting fraud that checks off every box: claiming to have the highest margins in the industry; but alarmingly little cash flow and the lowest cash conversion among its peers; accompanied by the highest inventory level of any semicap equipment supplier in the world."

"For OLP Global’s allegations to hold an indicia of credibility or logic, its report would need to demonstrate a US$137 million shortfall in New Oriental’s cash balance from the Company’s alleged overstating of net income... — New Oriental Education & Technology Group (November 20, 2011 press release)"

"Given our discussions with former employees and forensic analysis of Stryker’s historical inability to deal with its SG&A and cost bloat, along with rising supply chain and inflation challenges, we view it unlikely that its free cash flow will increase 4.4% in 2022 and that earnings will grow 25.2%."

"Notice that BR recently included warning language around impairment charges and that a significant non-cash impairment could have a material adverse effect on its operations. Based on our findings and analysis, we struggle to believe BR's explanation that the UBS partnership isn't already impaired."

"BR management has consistently touted Closed Sales as a key performance indicator (KPI), and it influences management's short-term cash compensation. But as we'll illustrate, it is fraught with holes and should not be relied upon as a firm measure of revenue that will materialize in the near-term."

"Without taking on any debt or implementing any additional operational improvements, Bristol-Myers will have the ability to use ~$37 billion of cumulative unlevered free cash flow over the next five years to execute a “String of Pearls” strategy (i.e. in-licenses, partnerships, small acquisitions)"

"Without taking on any debt or implementing any additional operational improvements, Bristol-Myers will have the ability to use ~$37 billion of cumulative unlevered free cash flow over the next five years to execute a “String of Pearls” strategy (i.e. in-licenses, partnerships, small acquisitions)"

"Without taking on any debt or implementing any additional operational improvements, Bristol-Myers will have the ability to use ~$37 billion of cumulative unlevered free cash flow over the next five years to execute a “String of Pearls” strategy (i.e. in-licenses, partnerships, small acquisitions)"

"Despite having created little to no value, in our opinion, as a public company (including missing financial targets and spending $110m on a revenue-less venture SecurityMatters with no clear evidence that it succeeded), Forescout insiders are in line for a hefty payday – cashing out nearly $100m."

"Net "funded" debt is calculated under our Revolving Credit Facility by starting with the long-term indebtedness shown on our most recent balance sheet plus lease obligations that are set forth separately from our long-term indebtedness on our balance sheet minus cash on hand. — GFL IPO Prospectus"

"Given the Company’s tendency to ignore its hardware business activities and propensity for creative accounting, it should come as no surprise that CFO Phillips has suggested on several occasions that investors simply ignore the cash flow impacts of the Company’s hardware transactions altogether."

"With the same toxic combination of leverage and cash burn, we believe investors underestimate Nevro’s risk of becoming the next Nuvectra, especially if the FDA takes any action against its product, or if the OIG’s Nov 16th Special Fraud Alert on speakers programs is predictive of what’s coming."

"While there are multiple contributing factors to TI’s underperformance, we believe the most significant has been the dramatic increase in capital investment announced in 2022, which has led to a fundamental deviation from TI’s long-held commitment to driving growth in free cash flow per share."

"We believe Limbach significantly overstates its free cash flow, which in turn inflates its reported Adj. EBITDA-to-FCF conversion rate. While the Company claims an 80% conversion rate over the past six years, our Spruce Point-adjusted FCF analysis suggests the true figure may be less than 60%."

"As of December 31, 2018, we had cash and cash equivalents of $172.7 million and short-term investments of $204.6 million... As a result of the enactment of the 2017 Tax Act, we currently plan to repatriate cash from our Bermuda subsidiary to fund our future expenditures in the U.S. — MPWR 10-K"

"WD-40’s share price defies logic and trades at an extreme valuation. Post the last financial crisis in 2018, management has directed ~62% of total free cash flow into repurchasing shares at increasingly inflated prices, while it methodically reduces its stake in the Company to almost nothing."

"ISS continues to have concerns with the Compensation Committee's decision to approve bonus payments at 110 percent of target when the company failed to achieve the minimum performance goals for operating income before depreciation and amortization and free cash flow. — RiskMetrics Group (ISS)"

"Had Ginkgo included Synlogic’s foundry spend of $13.6MM, related party revenues as a percent of total would have jumped from 72% to 95% - that is, Ginkgo would have had to admit that its foundry is a flop and that it can’t get customers unless it gives them cash and round-trips the proceeds."

"“I think the real critical question that if I were in your shoes, the kind of question I would wonder is - would we spend the amount of cash today at Ginkgo that we've spent on R&D credits to get the result that we've gotten?” ... “And the answer sounds like no.” — Senior Genomatica employee"

"With Sumner Redstone Absent for the Last Few Years, and With Dauman Effectively in Control of his Trust, it’s Been a Perfect Setup for Dauman and Dooley to Keep Paying Themselves Enormous Cash Compensation at the Expense of Shareholders With Weak Accountability in Terms of Their Performance"

""The Company reclassified prior year comparative figures in the condensed consolidated statement of cash flows to conform to the current year's presentation....This change in presentation did not have an impact on the Company's financial condition or operating results." — Amcor 10-Q Note 1"

"Altogether, we estimate the $25 million cash payment and tangible concessions linked to the valuable Meridian assets could over time represent a nine-figure cost in the coming years for Norfolk Southern - far exceeding the $84 million that CSX paid to hire industry legend Hunter Harrison."

"Doug Cole failed to disclose his involvement with Longwei. During Cole’s tenure, Longwei’s CFO “routinely” made misleading statements, ran a fraudulent scheme to induce the exercise of warrants to generate much-needed cash, and executed a sham purchase of LPIH stock to inflate its price."

"In short, we expect to return in cash about 59% of [the August 5, 2019] market capitalization to our shareholders while at the same time keeping an ownership in a predictable business that generates over 80% of today’s operating income. — NLOK CEO Vincent Pilette, Q1 FY2020 Earnings Call"

"Given that Kangmei’s ex-Chairman was sentenced to 12 years in prison and the company allegedly overstated its cash balance by $4.3B “using false documents,” we were further stunned to see a 2017 press release from Twist stating that Kangmei Group was actually an investor in the company."

"In August 2019, we issued a $2.4 billion cash dividend to Playtika Holding UK. In September 2019, we distributed all of our shares in LaGuardia Venture Limited, or LaGuardia, an investment company which made investments of $400 million in 2018, to Playtika Holding UK. — PLTK Prospectus"

"The deterioration of Skechers' cash flow margins since 2018, coupled with a history of mismatch between its CFO and net income (before non-controlling interest) and thus highly suspect earnings quality, suggests that something is fundamentally wrong with the Company's financial model."

"We provide evidence that since 1999, the Company has generated a cash flow deficit of -$1.6bn after capital expenditures, business investment, and asset-shuffling and repositioning, while making +$4.7bn and +$3.9bn of dividends and share repurchases effectively through debt-financing."

"Dropbox does warn that its Free Cash Flow excludes payments for finance leases and that it may be calculated differently from other companies in the industry, limiting its usefulness. When asked about finance leases, the CFO avoids highlighting the effect on the financial statements."